Making It Home
by Kuro49
Summary: For Momosportif and Sarahfreak’s DGM Contest. There were times when Komui thinks about how his home came to be.


So after a few months of lazing around and reading practically all the contestants' pieces, I finally got around to post my own. -rolls around- I don't own anything, not even the idea this time because even that goes to Momosportif and Sarahfreak :)

Room Chosen: Staircase that leads to the water tunnel. (I know it's not a room but I asked already! -continues to roll around-)

XXX

**Making It Home**

XXX

He wasn't there when they began building it. One brick at a time, one on top of another and then a layer of cold cement that would harden into the same density as rocks.

He wasn't there when the tower was finished either but he had an idea of how everything came together, like jigsaw puzzles one piece at a time. It was a process based on common sense and a hint of imagination. Just like the way he thought everything through, well… most of the time at least.

The puzzle was complete and the spiralling staircase led down to the water tunnel.

That was the oldest part of the Order, built underground, away from the prying eyes of foreigners and definitely without a touch of God's pale hand. Komui still had the blue prints of the tower in his office, somewhere as far as he was aware.

But what most people never noticed, no matter how many times they go down that curving stair case, they never saw what was right in front of them. Komui was always by their side, but their eyes were concentrated on the cold stone steps, flaming with fear, their souls burning with a desire to get out.

But the stairs won't eat them up no matter how many times they thought it would. Because if they had looked up, they would have seen where the pale skylight that lit up their steps came from. But they never do and they never notice.

There was a window, two flights from the bottom, the window was located right there, it looked out, not into the hazy foggy town, but into the vast body of water on the opposite side.

Komui pounded down the stairs, he was pretty sure someone would have heard him by now. When he stopped at the window he waited for the footsteps that would hurry after him. His heart slammed against his chest with each breath; placing his hands on his knees he gulped in huge breaths of air to calm his racing heart. It has been a while since his last running exercise had taken place.

His heartbeat pulsed rapidly in his ears, the rushing of blood heavy in his veins.

In blood and flesh his memories flashed before his eyes. No, he wasn't dying; he was just thinking of the past, it has been a recent hobby really, after his jigsaw puzzle obsession went dull a few months ago.

He remembered seeing Rinali off for her first mission, he was scared, truly scared at all the possibilities. He could still feel the tremble that coursed through his body as she disappeared into the tunnel, darkness dragging her further in. The world wasn't a friendly place. He prayed to whatever God that was out there for her safety. What answered him wasn't his baby sister's instant return but a phone call with the warm old voice of General Tiedoll.

When Tiedoll found another exorcist, he was ecstatic. Happy, grateful, and beyond relief because of the mountains of missions he had on his desk. He didn't want to send another out into the dangerous bloody battlefields, it pained him to do so everyday but he was desperate and maybe just a little selfish, if not a lot.

But what Tiedoll brought back was a feisty brat; he could still remember the scene where the boy almost shoved a Finder down these staircases because he walked too close, also known as 3 meters of space.

Japanese, he was 13 at that time.

It was of course, the infamous Kanda Yuu.

He gave Komui the chills really; especially those eerie blue eyes that could easily burn a hole through your head. When he first arrived he didn't speak, he was still new to the English language, he spoke with broken phrases, simple words but his tone could literally kill.

But what surprised him was that the child took on mission by mission, he never once complained about the workload. He asked Tiedoll but the man just shrugged and continued to paint before throwing back a sentence at his concern.

"Just let him do as he please."

The typical calm reply of General Tiedoll, it was strange how he was the one to find the walking ticking time bomb. Quite ironic as he ran the thought of the hot tempered teen and the laid back General in his head again.

Komui didn't complain. So all the small and insignificant missions were given to the small Asian exorcist. He took each one and completed each one with swift accuracy. Maybe they were all just simple practice to him, either way he was improving fast.

But when Komui told him to take a week off and rest (after 28 consecutive missions it seemed reasonable enough,) he stabbed a hole through his desk and _asked_, calm and quiet in broken English for his next mission, his blade glinted in the light of the room.

"Komui, mission… now."

No please, no thank you, just three words sugar coated with a heavy Japanese accent.

He took out the blade and left, mission folder in his pale hand, satisfied smirk gracing his thin lips.

Komui never denied him a second time after that.

It made him shiver every time that memory passed through his head, it still scared him to know what would have happened if the desk was him instead.

A clean cut through and through.

His eyes shifted to the side of the window view. But what came to mind wasn't something that made him smile; it was just something that made him think of the strange duo of old and young.

They had an interest in the ancients, even the Bookman himself looked like an artifact; old and worn down, each wrinkle was another story he has not yet told. While on the other hand, his apprentice was strangely bright, not only because of the spectrum of colors that he vibrated with; it was the way that he carried himself that separated him from the rest.

And that was when Bookman and his apprentice came into the scene. To him, it was a very bad timing but to Bookman and his red headed student, it was just the perfect moment of polite intrusion. Perhaps it was the massive murders of Exorcists and Finders both alike that irked the old man's interest. Either way they came and bundles of books quickly followed.

"I am the current Bookman and this," he acknowledged the visually striking teen with the red hair and green eye like an object. "He is my apprentice."

The red head snapped his head up at his mention; he gave a surprisingly bright grin despite the gloom surrounding them. "The name is Rabi."

His calm and laid back voice was something he has never heard, it was filled with something he lost a long time ago, and it was hope.

The duo were quite unique, their knowledge was immense but Komui could sense a deeper secret through their quiet whispered and unheard words in the library. The two weren't foes but neither were they friends, Komui had to make that clear every time Rabi slung an arm over his shoulder as they discussed the latest mission he finished.

The old man too, Komui had to bury his head into his documents every time Bookman came in to give him a thoroughly interesting book, it wasn't everyday you can meet someone with such great knowledge. It was hardly a measurement of brains.

He walked down the stairs late one night during those long hours of slaving over a certain curse the Oriental exorcist had reluctantly told him about just last month. The red head was standing there by the window; arms perched up on the windowsill. He was staring out at the glistening water. They looked at each other before Rabi broke into a smile.

The moon was fading into the dark rippling waves as he asked. "Is this your favorite place?"

Back then it was in good condition, the metal rims was still a coal black that would gleam when the sun was at just the right angle. Komui didn't even realize his habit of coming here, but once the young exorcist pointed out he couldn't help but nod and reply with a yes. There was no point of denying it.

"It's beautiful, the sight and everything." He gave a seemingly wild gesture with his hands and he could only nod back as a response. "Even the Order is magnificent, just look at the bricks, the years of histories. It's simply amazing," Rabi turned to Komui and gave him another grin but something has slipped.

"If I could pick, I would never want to leave."

At the time, Komui didn't think of it as anything, just replied, a kind smile on his lips. "You are welcome to stay as long as you want."

Rabi's smiles were warming; his character could even be seen as a miracle in the gloomy tower. But he was very much real, Komui didn't know by how many percent but something told him that the percentage was increasing day by day. Now that he replayed the scene in his head, he wished he could have said one sentence to the young teen then. But he couldn't turn back time, and so he just settled for saying it now.

"It wouldn't be home without you."

The words left his lips, quieter than a murmur. But the hollow staircase magnified his voice; it was now slightly louder than a whisper. And really two out of the three, it wouldn't be right if he didn't think over the last boy from this bickering trio of black, red and white.

Allen Walker, Komui was sure he would be the last piece of puzzle that would come along.

Page by page, document by document, minutes turned into hours and hours turned into days.

Underneath the workload, Komui had lost his standards for time; he merely counted how many cups of coffee Rinali had served him. So he really didn't realize it has been five years since General Cross left and three years since the last exorcist joined.

So the young exorcist with a curse on his left eye came as a small surprise to him. The letters had long since overwhelmed one another, Komui no longer takes a glance at the word knitted papers Riba handed him. The cameras focused and refocused at the small boy with the suitcase climbing up towards them. Each crunch of his foot with the dirty grimy grounds, the eyes of the scientists all alike watched him as if he was some kind of exotic specimen beneath a magnified glass.

Komui was pretty amused by what happened after, some of them panicked and shouted out random warnings into the mic that were broadcasted into the entire Order.

Trust Kanda to be there when he is needed.

In less than two minutes, the Japanese teen had the small boy pinned to the door with a slash to his claw and the tip of Mugen was directed right at a vital vein.

Mistakes on top of mistakes, he was stuck at his desk, (although it was more like tied to a chair) as Riba made him work through all those letters on his desk. It was one of the worst 3 days in his life, he was fairly sure there were bound to be more nights like that but he really didn't want to dwell on that depressing thought.

Allen was the first, as far as Komui remembered that has entered the Black Order without the use of these stairs. A true hero really does need a grander entrance; he couldn't help but smile at the thought.

The small boy with the snow-white hair turned out to be the Destroyer of Time, pretty heroic title if he could have a say in it. Bookman was standing there, pipe in his mouth and hands in his sleeves. Hevlaska whispered the prophecy before placing the boy back on to the elevator.

It wasn't long before Allen Walker came to be Mr. Nice Guy who went head to head with the vicious sharp-tongued Kanda Yuu. And Rabi was really just in on the fun, after all a real life battle got to be more interesting than a battle written down on paper.

But now that he thought about it, their constant arguments are really what brought the noise back into the Order. Their loud obscured curses, insults, and most of all, their laughter. It was all to proof that they were here and they meant something more than just another soldier in the line of fire.

He ran a hand over the gray bricks cracking with time.

Komui could have chosen a normal life, far away from the pressure of the Vatican. Away from harm and he would have lead a perfectly happy life. He may have even gotten marry and had children of his own. But none of that could compare to the day Rinali was taken away, he didn't understand the ways of the Generals then, he refused and he fought back.

He didn't know how important an apostle of God was back then.

Perhaps if he did, he would have let go. And perhaps he would have held on even tighter.

Komui liked to believe in the latter.

He still remembered the first time he walked up those stairs, his memory may not be like Bookman's or Rabi's but he knew enough to doubt it. It really has been a while now that he did the calculations in his head; it has almost been eight years since he started working as the head of the Science Department.

When he first got off the boat the only thought that ran through his mind was how Western everything was. The tower really did look like those castles in old Western movies his father brought him to the theater to watch when he was young.

The black and white screenshots, the raspy voices of the actors and most of all, the mechanical glitches, he would surely miss it all.

The walk up the stairs tired him, what got him here was his brain, an organ far far away from where his legs were located. But the constant thought that pulled him through all this never let him stray too far. It would always pull him back at the last second and snap him out of his useless daydreams that would never get him anywhere.

He was on the landing now, following after three cloaked figures, he was stared at, watched by big eyes, bright eyes, crystal clear eyes but none were her pair of warm chocolate eyes.

He stopped the frown from forming on his face, he kept his anxiety, anger and worry from clouding his better judgments.

Stepping into the offices; they gave him a pat on the shoulder and showered him with praises. He thank them, familiar English rolled off his tongue with ease. He shook hands with a man called Leverrier and they talked for a few minutes before he had to leave.

"Congratulations, Komui Li." He gave him a smile; it looked more like an evil smirk though. "I am leaving for Central, and I expect the Order to be kept under keen eyes."

A final look back at the man and he was gone. He waved at the dark shadows in the water until they were out of hearing shot before he let an angry scowl slip to his face. He grabbed the nearest man roughly by his shirt collar, fabric crumpling beneath his grip.

"Where is Rinali?" His voice was eerily calm despite the evident anger. The man he grabbed shook him off, a bit annoyed at his sudden change of altitude. "Follow me, Bak already told me the details on the phone. You must be Rinali's brother."

He muttered an apology, obviously embarrassed by his rude actions and followed after the man with the Australian accent. The other didn't seem to mind; his shoulders gave a mindless shrug before leading the way up those cold stone steps again.

"Welcome to the Order, my name is Riba Wenhamm."

He didn't know it then, but Riba became a friend and the Black Order conveniently became his home.

He laid a hand on the window sill, the cool metal was rusting away, he ran a finger across the surface, the copper orange rust pricked gently at his skin. A cloud drifted across his glassy vision, it was a white wisp in the stretch of continuous blue.

And then the sounds of her footsteps came down the hollow staircase.

He didn't need to turn around; he knew that she had her hands on her hips, annoyance seeping from her pursed lips. And she would occasionally brush a strand of long black hair that no longer existed from her shoulder; it was simply out of habit. He stood up straighter as he felt her presence right behind him.

"Brother! We are looking everywhere for you!"

Her exasperated voice echoed in the empty staircase, running a light melodic tone along each ancient brick. He could feel the vibrations of her voice in his eardrums, tapping the words into his head. Komui gave a smile, content as he turned to face his sister, the core of why he was here in the first place.

"I was at home, Rinali."_ I was at home all along._

Sunlight gleamed through the musty chilly air, the stone surfaces felt sturdy as he laid a hand on the wall, rough texture like braille beneath his fingertips. He took a step up the stairs and he could hear her heels click, right behind him.

XXX Kuro

-wipes sweat off brow- How was that? I think this piece ought to be the longest I dragged on and actually got to see the daylights XD Strange how I turned Kanda's part into sligt humor, Rabi's part into slight angst and Allen's into the neutral. I struggled a bit at the transitional points... but I hope I made it all flow smoothly! :) And thank you to the hostesses of this contest for allowing me to enter :D


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